Freedom of Information: Government Departments

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many information notices the Information Commissioner has issued to each Department in each year since 2005 in circumstances in which he considers there has been undue delay by that Department in providing the information requested.

Michael Wills: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the independent authority responsible for enforcing the Freedom of Information Act (the "Act").
	Section 51 of the Act provides that the Commissioner may serve an Information Notice either in relation to a complaint or to assess compliance with the requirements of the Act.
	Up to November 2009 the ICO has issued 91 formal information notices to Public Authorities, 34 of which have been to Government Departments. They are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Department  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  Total 
			 Department of Transport - - 1 - - 1 
			 Department of Health 1 1 1 2 1 6 
			 House of Commons - 6 - - - 6 
			 Scotland Office - - - 1 - 1 
			 The Treasury Solicitors Department - 1 - - - 1 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office - 1 - - - 1 
			 Department for Culture Media and Sport - 1 - - - 1 
			 Cabinet Office - - 2 2 - 4 
			 Home Office - - 1 1 4 6 
			 Department for Constitutional Affairs - 1 - - - 1 
			 HM Treasury - 1 - - - 1 
			 The Department of Trade and Industry/Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform - - - 3 - 3 
			 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - - - 1 - 1 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office - - - 1 - 1 
			 Grand Total 1 12 5 11 5 34